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Clashing
clashing kestreIs 0 // talons Aspentooth's tail twitched uneasily as they stared up at the leaders perched on the branches of the Great Oak. There had been rising tensions very recently between the three Clans, and it was obvious just by looking at the cats; they were all tense and casting wary glances at each other. Instead of mingling and sharing tongues like they should at Gatherings, they each kept to themselves, and there wasn't much talk, save for the excited chatter of the apprentices. SpruceClan's leader, a short, broad-faced molly named Buzzardstar, stood. "Let's go ahead an' start the Gatherin', since no one's feelin' up t' chattin'." she announced in her gruff voice. Fennelstar and Falconstar, the leaders of WillowClan and CypressClan respectively, both rolled their eyes, but didn't protest. Fennelstar's soft voice sounded. "You may start, Buzzardstar." she mewed, respectfully dipping her head to the older leader. Buzzardstar's ears flicked. "I di'n't ask." she responded without even glancing at the other molly. Aspentooth swallowed nervously as murmurs rose around them. If she keeps this up, there's no way this will end well. the pale-furred warrior thought, shuffling their paws. Beside them, Webpaw blinked up at them and shuffled closer, leaning into them, seeking comfort from the young warrior. He was obviously as nervous as his mentor. "A'ight," Buzzardstar began, her eyes sweeping over the crowd. "So one of our queens, Li'lshade, gave birth t' three kits. Reedkit, Mantiskit, an' Lightnin'kit. Two elders passed away - Goldenleaf an' Emberface." Goldenleaf had been Aspentooth's mother, so the mention of her name made the warrior wince. They'd been one of the first to discover that the elderly she-cat had died. Fortunately, it had been a peaceful death; she'd only passed away in her sleep and, though it was sad, they were grateful that it had been painless. Emberface, however, had been struck down by a sickness that persisted no matter what treatments were used. Buzzardstar's announcements were short as usual. She reported that prey and herbs were plentiful now that it was mid-newleaf, then stepped back and nodded to Falconstar, signalling that he could go. The CypressClan leader nodded tersely in response. He stood and cleared his throat. "CypressClan is doing well. We have two new apprentices. Cherrypaw and Cedarpaw, please stand." Two small cats stood. One, a calico molly, lifted her head proudly; the other, a dark brown tabby tom, looked as if he were trying to hide behind the calico to avoid the stares of the large crowd. Falconstar mentioned that a new warrior had been made as well, but they had been unable to attend due to personal reasons. Just when it had appeared that he was finished and Fennelstar was beginning to rise, he suddenly snapped, "And there has been prey stolen from CypressClan territory!" Shocked and confused voices began to rise from all around Aspentooth. "And," Falconstar added, "I suspect it to be the doing of SpruceClan!" He glared accusingly at Buzzardstar, whose long, tangled fur had begun to bristle. Shouts of anger and cries of protest rose from SpruceClan. Aspentooth flinched at the noise and leaned closer to their apprentice, squeezing their eyes shut. Webpaw gave his mentor a comforting lick on the shoulder, not being able to do much more. Buzzardstar's lips had peeled back to reveal yellowed teeth. "How dare you accuse us!" she snarled, her tail lashing. "Ya rat!" Fennelstar immediately sprung to the ground. "WillowClan, let's go!" she yowled, urgently nudging her deputy to her paws. WillowClan streamed out of the clearing, throwing glances back at the remaining two Clans as they disappeared into the underbrush. Falconstar scoffed. "We're the rats? Says the prey-stealer!" he hissed accusingly. Aspentooth quickly rose to their paws and stood protectively over Webpaw. If there was a fight, they were going to protect the young tom. The apprentice was like a little brother to them, so if someone wanted to hurt him, then they'd have to go through Aspentooth first. Buzzardstar's broad head swung from side to side. Her claws scraped the bark on the branch as she demanded, "D' ya even have proof?" "My warriors have found SpruceClan scent over our borders!" Falconstar snapped, his round eyes narrowing. "Like that proves anything!" someone yowled, their voice shrill. "Yeah! You're just a filthy liar!" another added. "Shut up!" Falconstar snarled, spit flecking his jaws. "I'm not lying! Your Clan is stealing prey from CypressClan, Buzzardstar! Do you really allow this? Have SpruceClan strayed from the code and become a lawless gang of rogues!?" Before the tom could even react, Buzzardstar's large paw lashed out, striking him right in the side of the head. Her claws dragged down the side of his face, and even from where they stood, Aspentooth could see the blood beginning to trail down Falconstar's face. The wiry tom was thrown to the ground and left reeling by the force of Buzzardstar's strike. Through all this, no one moved. Everyone seemed to be holding their breath, waiting to see what would happen next. Before Falconstar could get to his paws, Buzzardstar leaped down and pinned him to the ground. She spat, "Piece o' crowfood!" She clawed the tom's face once again, then turned and stalked off, yowling, "Let's go, SpruceClan!" The SpruceClan cats instantly stood and rushed after the leader. Aspentooth nudged Webpaw and the two followed, casting cautious glances over their shoulders at the CypressClan cats. 1 // signs "You're doing fine, Webpaw." Aspentooth said, gently nudging the apprentice to his paws. The pair was practicing fighting; since the incident at last moon's Gathering, Buzzardstar was pressing her warriors to make sure their apprentices were ready for anything. That meant extra battle training. If they were being honest, Aspentooth was concerned for Webpaw. The tom knew the moves and techniques to bring opponents down, but he just couldn't execute them. If CypressClan were to attack right then... They didn't want to finish that thought. Webpaw looked frustrated. His paws kneaded the ground and his fur was bristling a bit. He shook his head - no. The tom's eys were brimming with tears. Aspentooth felt guilt wash over them. "Webpaw, I'm sorry, p-please, don't..." they said weakly, averting their eyes to the ground. They didn't know what to do now. The feline hoped that their weak apology would be enough. Webpaw immediately looked worried for his mentor. He stepped toward them and shook his head again, blinking to clear the tears from his pale eyes. He lightly bumped his head against Aspentooth's shoulder - it's okay. He couldn't do much else. Aspentooth sighed. "Sorry, Webpaw. Do you want to take a break?" The tom hesitated before nodding. He rubbed at his eyes with a paw, hoping to clear any sign of tears from them. He nodded again and started back to camp, Aspentooth right behind him. As soon as the two entered camp, a small kit bounded over excitedly, its fluffy pelt splashed with mud. "Web-bro!" she exclaimed, skidding to a stop right in front of the apprentice. A small smile appeared on Webpaw's face as he waved his tail in greeting. "Hi, Rainkit." Aspentooth said quietly. They didn't know how to act around kits. They never knew what to say to them. He always let Webpaw deal with them, since he spent a lot of his time with his younger sister. Rainkit either ignored Aspentooth or just didn't hear them; her attention was focused on her brother. "Bro! Me an' Wolfy found somethin' cool an' we gotta show you!" She started tugging at the apprentice's leg. "C'mon, please!" Webpaw glanced apologetically at his mentor. He flicked his tail and followed Rainkit away to see what they had found. Aspentooth nodded slightly, feeling disappointed. He knew Webpaw didn't exactly have a choice there, but they still didn't feel too great anymore. Not knowing what to do now, they sat staring blankly into the distance, shuffling their paws. They didn't know how much time had passed when someone called their name. "Hey, Aspentooth!" The tabby feline snapped out of their trance to see Loudfire, one of their friends. Loudfire wasn't born in the Clan; she'd been taken in as an apprentice after she'd left her family. Aspentooth had been an apprentice at the time. Loudfire - then Loudpaw - often got on their nerves, her excitable nature a bit too much. However, she insisted on being their friend, so Aspentooth had just accepted it. They'd gotten used to the molly's excitement and energy at this point. Aspentooth nodded. "Hi, Loudfire." "You and Webpaw done training?" "Yeah, I guess." Loudfire's eyes brightened. "Nice! You should come hang out with me and my friends!" Her ginger tail flicked toward a group of three cats, none of which Aspentooth recognized. The warrior nervously asked, "Who are they?" They felt weird having to ask about who their own Clanmates were. Loudfire didn't seem to mind the question. She began, "The dark tabby is Shadefur. He's kind of rude, but he doesn't mean to hurt anyone." She pointed a forepaw at the small white cat next to Shadefur. "That's Sheepheart. He's really jumpy and nervous a lot. And-" she pointed at a large russet she-cat "- Foxbark. She's a lot like me. Guess that's why we love each other so much, hah." Aspentooth still looked doubtful. "I, um..." "Please, Aspen?" They sighed. "Okay, f-fine." They were nudged forward by Loudfire and reluctantly padded over to the group, following their friend. "Back!" Loudfire announced. "Here's the cat I was telling you guys about!" She bumped her shoulder against Aspentooth's. The tabby - Shade-something - flicked his ears. "Really? Him?" Aspentooth winced. "I-it's..." they started, feeling themself choke up. They already hated this cat. "Hey, hey!" Foxbark snapped, jabbing the tabby in the ribs. "Loudy said they don't like being referred to as a tom!" Her tone was sharp, and she seemed actually angry at the tom. Shadefur hissed, but looked regretful. "Sorry, sorry! Not good with names 'n stuff like that..." he mumbled apologetically, shuffling his paws. Aspentooth felt grateful for Foxbark standing up for them. However, they felt even more uncomfortable than before. Shadefur avoided their eyes, his gaze focused on his paws. Aspentooth hastily sat between Foxbark and Sheepheart, who moved to give them room. Sheepheart looked more nervous than Aspentooth, shuffling further even though they were already sitting. "So!" Loudfire chirped. "Weren't we talkin' about that group of apprentices?" Foxbark said lazily. "Yeah." Shadefur responded. Aspentooth wanted to ask, What group of apprentices? They kept quiet, hoping that maybe the others would explain and they'd get it. Loudfire laughed. "Those are the most annoying kits I've ever met! Like, you can barely hold a conversation with them! They always just interrupt you and literally never give you the chance to talk." "I don't see how Cloudswipe put up with them for six moons." Shadefur added. Oh, they were talking about Cloudswipe's kits. Beetlekit and Sandkit. Aspentooth had never met them, but based on the descriptions the group was giving, they sounded like cats they didn't want to even look at. Sheepheart remained silent. Had he not met the two either? Loudfire flicked her ears. "One time, Sandpaw filled my nest with fire ants." she recalled. "It was the worst. And I got blamed for the ants getting in everyone else's nests! Me! Can you believe it?" She huffed indignantly. Foxbark snorted. "Yeah. Didn't you pull a stunt like that when we were apprentices?" "Shut it, Fox!" Loudfire growled playfully, jabbing her mate's side with her paw. Foxbark laughed in reply and shoved her back. "But yeah, haha. I did." she admitted, grinning. "Still totally unfair though." Aspentooth suddenly asked, "Have they ever mentioned Webpaw? D-do they know him?" The group's talk about these apprentices made him worried about the young tom. Loudfire looked at the feline questioningly. "Hmm... don't think so." she answered, glancing at Foxbark. Foxbark thought for a bit before saying, "Prob'ly not. I don't think they really bother the other apprentices. Usually they just pester the older cats." "Oh, okay. That's good." Aspentooth sighed, relieved. "Ain't he your brother?" Foxbark asked. Aspentooth was caught off guard by the question. "Oh, uh... he's my apprentice. He's like a brother to me, though, y-yeah." -tbc Category:KestreI's stuff